RIGA - President Vaira Vike-Freiberga on Thursday congratulated the 100,000th naturalized citizen.
Deniss Rostrovskis, 17, became the 100,000th person to naturalize in the Baltic state. In her congratulation speech, Vike-Freiberga encouraged all naturalized citizens to feel a kinship with Latvia and to become more active members of society.
"You have become Latvian citizens 's active in your actions, in your intentions and in your choice. As the head of state, I am congratulating you on this, and I want to say that it is a wise and right choice because now you have the same rights as other citizens, regardless of the number of generations this citizenship has been passed on," the president emphasized.
"I appeal to all of you to acknowledge for the duration of your citizenship that now you belong to this state as citizens and it belongs to you, and from now on it depends on you how mighty or powerful it will be, or how pitiable," the president said.
